Sara Gerke is among five professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that have been named 2026-2027 University Scholars in recognition of their achievements in teaching, scholarship and service. The program honors faculty excellence and provides $15,000 to each scholar for three years to enhance their academic careers. That money may be used for travel, equipment, research assistants, books or other purposes.
Gerke, the Richard W. and Marie L. Corman Scholar at the College of Law, is an expert in health law and bioethics with a particular focus on artificial intelligence and digital health. She also holds an affiliation as a professor in the European Union Center at Illinois.
Gerke’s research examines the ethical and legal challenges of AI and big data in healthcare as well as health law in the U.S. and Europe. She has led or contributed to numerous interdisciplinary projects that draw on her expertise in these fields, especially in emerging medical technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, bionics and stem cell research. Currently, Gerke is leading two major Illinois studies funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe funding program: the legal and ethical implications of AI-assisted surgeries and the concerns raised by the use of AI in colonoscopies. With the explosion of interest in subject matters related to her research, Gerke’s work and perspective are in demand. She has more than 100 publications in her portfolio, is a frequent guest lecturer at institutions across the world and served as an external reviewer for the World Health Organization’s guidance on the “Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health.”
Learn more about the other faculty members selected for this prestigious honor at news.illinois.edu.